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Thursday, 31 December 2015

My Christmas Holiday Reading - Part 2

Welcome back, to seeing what I was reading on my wonderful holiday in Fuerteventura. This is the other half of the books I read, again with mini reviews.

Escape for Christmas by Ruth Saberton - 4 StarsIt was great to be back with Gemma Pengelly and friends. I read Escape for Summer last year and enjoyed it, and although its been a while it felt like coming home to these characters. Its a lovely sequel, and I really hope this isn't the end of the Escape series, as would love to see more from Gemma and Cal. High Tide by Veronica Henry - 4 StarsLoved the location of High Tide, and the four different but interesting points of view. Was a pleasure to read.

Girl Online by Zoe Sugg - 4 StarsAs I started this, it didn't take me long to realise I may not be quite the target demographic for this book. I felt a bit old to be honest as I was reading it. However at around 100 pages in, when the story starts to take off, I found myself enjoying what I was reading and my reservations started to fade. I found Girl Online to be very easy to read and follow, and that its good light hearted entertainment. I really enjoyed Penny's Girl Online blog posts.

The SW19 Club by Nicola May - 4.5 StarsIt is very rare for me to wake up in a morning with just one book title shouting over and over its name in my head. I have learnt though that when it does occur and there is a message that strong, that I should probably make it a priority to read that book, and that is what happened with The SW19 Club. And I am delighted that my subconscious was that active, as I found this to be a delightful book, full of quick and easy to read chapters. I kept needing to know what happened next, and as a result I found the book flew past. The SW19 Club deals with a topic that doesn't occur that often in chick lit, at least not in this depth, and does so very sensitively.

Christmas on Primrose Hill by Karen Swan - 5 StarsI will admit this wasn't necessarily the book I was expecting from Karen Swan, but it was so much better, so amazingly entertaining. I loved everything to do with The Big Blue Bunny campaign, it was hilarious and was definitely the best book I could have picked to read on Christmas day. Fabulous story, with brilliant writing and I am convinced Karen Swan gets better and better every book!

The Night Before Christmas by Scarlett Bailey - 5 StarsI have noticed that Scarlett Bailey has the uncanny knack of being able to write a brilliant Christmas book, in fact I was disappointed there wasn't a new release by her this year. However I luckily still had The Night Before Christmas to read, and I found this story drew me in completely. It is in a fabulously Christmassy location, and in less than a week, its surprising how many lives can change forever, The Beachside Guest House by Vanessa Greene - 5 StarsI loved Paros in Greece, the setting for The Windmill which was the Beachside Guest House. I found Iona's story absorbing and I found myself enjoying her chapters so much more than the others, even though I loved Rosa and Bee's stories too. The whole book was fantastic and I just couldn't put it down for one second.

Black Diamond by Havana Adams - 5 StarsWith a prologue that hooked me, this is a special book. Lola and Grace are twins that are separated as babies in an orphanage, only Grace was never meant to live. Black Diamond shows us how the two girls grew up and how radically different their fortunes have been. I loved reading both of their stories, An addictive and compulsive read, that is a a rare diamond!The Mysterious Miss Mayhew by Hazel Osmond - 3.5 StarsAlthough I did enjoy this book, I found that at times it was struggling to hold my interest, and it to me just isn't Hazel Osmond's best book. I found the Miss Mayhew character a bit too odd for my liking, and I also struggled to feel an affinity with her.

Seeing Other People by Mike Gayle - 4.5 StarsThis book had a slightly unusual premise and to be honest the "ghost" of an ex-girlfriend really didn't work for me at all. I'm not normally a fan of ghosts, and this one really just seemed more like a figment of Joe's imagination. Despite that I found the book to be quite emotional in places, and very well written. Its one of those books where you can see what a difference just 1 small decision can make to the rest of your whole life.

Yours Truly by Kirsty Greenwood - 5 StarsYours Truly is brilliant, entertaining and downright enjoyable. Feel free to include some more superlatives in there at your convenience as they are all deserved. Kirsty Greenwood is a fabulous author and I am eager to read anything else she writes. In parts the storyline reminded me a bit of Liar Liar, but in a very loose way. I loved every single second of this book, which I read in one sitting.

Winter Wishes: Polwenna Bay 3 by Ruth Saberton - 5 StarsAs you may be able to tell on this blog, I am a huge fan of the Polwenna Bay series, and Winter Wishes is the third installment. I struggled to guess who Danny would end up, either his ex wife Tara, or the vicar Jules, who there has been clear chemistry with in the past. Was good to see more of Jules in this book, as she has been an ever present character, and catching up with the Tremaine family is always good fun. Lovely wintery story, of the standard I have come to expect from Ruth Saberton.

Girl on the Run by Rhoda Baxter - 4 StarsI always enjoy just browsing my kindle to see what I can stumble upon that I may have not overly remembered about before, and Girl on the Run was one of those books for me. I bought it and there it sat for over a year, until I came across it again. I'm delighted that I did, as I found this to be a fast paced, great romance, about a girl on the run from the paparazzi. Large amounts of the story was progressed using text and email between various characters, which gave quick snapshots into a variety of characters, while keeping the focus on Jane.

The Keeper (DI Sean Corrigan, Book 2) by Luke Delaney - 4.5 StarsThis is the second Sean Corrigan book I have now read, and I am starting to come to the conclusion that Luke Delaney must have a sick and twisted mind, to come up with villains as vile in their nature as the one in The Keeper. Again we get both the police and the villain's points of view, and some of the crimes were making me feel a bit ill. The Keeper managed to keep me awake and alert on the flight home and kept me hooked. Really enjoyed this second book and can't wait to read more of this series.

And that is it! Wow it has taken me all day to write these two posts, and that is with the help of a notebook with notes on each book.

I promise I did enjoy my holiday, I even went for a swim on Christmas day, and I did talk to other people, as well as have my head in a book or kindle the rest of the time.

All that is really left for me to do is wish you all a very Happy New Year. I hope 2016 brings you everything you want. Don't forget to keep checking my publication dates page that I keep updated with all the upcoming new releases.

If I don't post anything else in the next couple of days, then I am definitely back properly on the 4th January!